pesthimaet



W. B. D. PENNIMAN.

APPARATUS FOR 7RACK ING OILS. APPLICATION FILED APR. 25. 1911.

1,429,622, PatentedSept. 19,1922,

TEMPERATUXE LEQULATM ,2 I I 2" OiL arm.

WPE.

Patented Sept 19, 1922'. e

when "r ass e 1,429,622 snr ot er.

""wrntraiu an; PENNIMAN, on BALTIMORE, irnntrnann.

Areas-arts non onaonrne 0111s.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, lVILLiAM B. D. PnNNI- MAN, a {citizen of the UnitedStates of America, residing in the city'of Baltimore,

State of Marylandhave invented certain operation by Which thehydrocarbons of.

high boiling point and correspondinglyhigh molecular weight are brokendown by heat into two products, one of which is in general more volatileand the other less. volatile than the original material cracked. "Theob-- ject of this invention is to so regulate the conditions underwhichthe cracking operation is carried onthat the character of theproducts and the practical diliiculties which ordinarily occur will beentirely or almost entirely avoided." These difiiculties' are in themain as follows :-1st-formation of undesirable distillation products, i.e., gas, heavier products than gasoline, unsaturated hydrocarbons, orother undesirable products; End-coke in the still, whichreduces theeiliciency of theheating surfaces, is accompanied generally by-theformation of an excessive amount of gas and is eminently undesirable;and 3rdexcessive cost of fuel.

Cracking of oils under pressure for the making of co'mmercirl gasoline,as ordinarily conducted, is accomplished by'heating the still whichcontains the oil by means of a free flame. Now,thetemperature at whichthe desired cracking operation is elf fected is so close to theten'iperature atwhich an excess jcokeis formed that unless particularprovision is made to secure the neces sary hightemperature and stillavoid the slightly higher temperature which results in the formationofcoke, the operation is uneconomical from the standpoint ofwp'roductionand perilous to the operatoron account of the danger'of explosion. Byusing the apparatus described in this and my copending application, suchformation of. coke and undesirable products s largely avo ded,

not only by the regulation ofthe heat applied to the oil, but otherdevices whichare described in detail. its the fuel used is burned underthe superheaters and boiler so constructed that the entire heat value isutilized, greateconomy of fuel is necessarily secured.

Application filed Aprilfn,

ture controlling members, i.

saw. SerialNo. 134,337.

In my U. S. QOOand 933,577, lhave described various Ieaturesandcomblnations of features of'an Patents Nos. 766,841, 902,-

apparatus for heating oil by means of steam, obtaining high temperaturesat low presapparatus for. cracking oils in which the patented apparatusmay be utilized when combined with other features and apparatus asherein described, it being understood however, that I do not confinethescope of the present invention to the details disclosed inc'the abovepatents. I I Y l In the present instance I use a series of stills ortanks heated by steam or other fluids,

the'temperat'ure of "the fluid utilized at each still. and thethermalconditions in each still,

and thepressures in all the'stills, being controlled, preferably byautomatic means. In thepractice of my invention, the hydrocarbon beingtreated'is passed from still to still and treated ineach still in turnatthetemp'era-ture found to be the most favorable for cracking, i. e.,the production of the highest percentage of gasoline from the oil in theparticular condition in'which it arrives at that still. This is on theprinciple that certain oils are cracked atone temperatureand l'ieatingthe residue at another temperature makes it possible to crack stillother oils, and soon until cracking of all available or crack ableoilsis completed.

A's in'all cracking under pressure, a considerable amount of, Oil 1svaporlzed without ture of the vapors and gases; This may be done eitherfor the pur ose of condensing theimcracked vap'orsor for cracking thevaporized oil, or both, that is, by usinga pluralityof successivetemperature controlling members, some for heatingand others foncoolingthe gases andvapors. ,To this end, I have provided a vaporchamber,passage or stillhead with one or more temperav e.,f means for heating orcooling the vapors with means for positively and definitely controllingthe heat-exchanging capacity or, temperature of said members.

As the quality and constituents ofthe "vapors coming from the differentstills when these contain different oils heated at-differenttemperatures, are different, it is found sures. My present applicationrelates to an a 'voir or receptacle for residue.

advisable to have a separate stillhead or vapor chamber for each stilland separately controlled temperature regulating means in eachstillhead. However, the stillhead arrangement may be varied within thescope of the invention.

One means for controlling the temperature of any of such stillheads orvapor chambers herein referred to is by means cl steam supplied atregulated temperatures and low pressures as disclosed in my aforesaidpatents. In accordance with my present invention It may however usewater instead of wet steam, or within the scope (it my broader claims, Imay use other heating means and heat controlling means and the termstean'i is used tor convenience to indicate any heat carrying fluid.

In the preferred form, the steam from each stillhead or vaportemperature controlling unit and the steam from each still is continuedin the system giving the greatest possible economy and the steam is allutilized. The thermal condition ot' both the heating units for thestills and the heating or cooling units for the vapor is controlledbyconnections to superheated and wet steam or corresponding sources, theHow being regulated by my valve apparatus or otherwise, any term ofregulation being within the broad scope of my invention.

In the accompanying drawing, 1 have i.l lustrated an apparatus embodyingthe various features of my invention, the figure being a diagrammaticelevation in which the parts have as far as possible been shown in aplane parallel to the paper for convenience in illustration.

Referring to the drawing by numerals, E have shown a series of stills ortanks 1, 3 for the oil which may be kerosene or one of the heavierpetroleum oils, all of which are known to be made up of mixtures ofdillerent hydrocarbons. The tanks or stills 1, 2 and 3 are connectedtogether by pipes and 5 to provide for the flow of the oil from onestill to the next as hereinafter described and there is an inlet orsupply pipe 6 and an out let '7. Oil is supplied to the pipe 6, flowinginto the still 1 and overflowing at t whence it passes through the pipel and overflows into the still 2 passing in turn through the still 2whence it overflows through the pipe 5 into the still 3 and is drawn oftby the pipe 7 passing by any suitable main 8 to a reserlhe flow may bemaintained by a pump. The return or waste main 8, as shown, is providedwith connections 9 and 10 to the pipes 4 and 5 respectively whichconnections are controlled by three-way valves 11 and 12 so that theflow may be diverted when desired. In each of the stills l, 2 and 3.there is a suitable steam coil 13, 14- and 15 or other means forbringing the st am or other suitgested being good one but not able heatvehicle in heat-exchanging relation with the oil. These coils areconnected each to two sources of fluid under different thermalconditions, referred to herein as a source of superheated steam l6 andwet steam 17, or within the broader conception of the invention, otherheat regulating means may be used.

Referring to the still 3 which would under ordinary circumstances beheated to the higliest temperature because it receives the heaviest oilswhich have already been treated in stills l and 2, the tetinperz'ztureof this coil or the fluid supply to it is controlled by a valve gearindicated at 18 and ilar or in a. general way equivalent in Luistruct onto that shown in my Patent l lo. 902,6tlt. To this valve superheatedsteam or other fluid at a correspondiir v hi 1 temperature, is led byway of a pipe 19 from tne source 16, and wet steam or suitable fluid ata lower temperature by a pipe 20 'lroiu the smirce 17, it beingunderstood that the u a of the word steam includes steam or other fluiduser for this run-pose. The valve gear 18 is controlled by an electricsystem having terminals a mercury tube 2i connected to a bulb in thepipe as which leads the mixed wet and superneated steam to the coil 15.The electric terminals connected to a motor 24- torming part or thevalve gear 18.

The steam from the vapor heatii'ig element or element be laterdescribed, which operate in connection ith th still is led to the pipeand ngled with the steam. from the mixing valve apparatus or gear 18 ata point o between the valve l8 and the bulb which communicates to theilrhaped tube 21. a pressure which is an i i. oifthe temperature of thesteam in the pipe 22-, and the valve gear 18 oper: es to admit just asmuch wet steam or just uni-h superheated steam, or just as much oil bothas is necessary with the steam coming through the pipe to give thedesired temperature at the air bulb 23 and thermal condition in thestill 3. :l'lowcver, the exact arrangement of st n pipe dcscrl is notessential to the in en'tion and the erun from the vapor heatingelit-mcnt ma be disposed of in any convenient manner within the scope ofthe invention, the lay-out essential as to its details to the successfulutilization of the broad principles of the invention. Further, the coilsshown may be snbstitutel l by any convenient means for bringing thesteam in heat-exchanging relation with the oil or oil vapor.

From the coil 15, the steam is led to a pipe which feeds the coil 1 inthe still This pipe 30 connects the valve gear 31, corresponding to thevalve gear 18, or the pipes controller l thereby, with the coil 1d, thepipe 32 from the coil 15 entering this pipe at a point y between thevalve gear 31 where the supplies of superheated and wet steam arecontrolled and mixed, and an air bulb 33 corresponding to the air bulb23. The pipe 32 is connected by a bypass 35 around the still 2 with'thepipe 40 leading from the valve gear 41 to the still 1 so that this steammay-be utilized even if still-2 has to be cut out, and this. pipe iscontrolled by three-way valve 86. 1111 the form of the invention shown,the steam .tiirom the vapor heating coil or coils in connection with thestill 2 is also introduced into the pipe .30 between the valve gear andthe air bulb entering by way of a pipe 84 so thatthe steam from theheating coil 1501 the still 8 and steam from the vaporheating coil orcoils to be described, which act on the vapors from the still 2, is inthe lay-out shown utilized in the coil 14 of the still'2. As the entiresupply 01 steam'admitted to the coil 14 passes in contact with the bulb38, the temperature of this steam is, within the limits of itseffectiveness on the oil and down to the temperature 01 steam .supply17, entirely controlled by the return valve gear 31.

As the lay-out for supplying steam to coil 15 ot still 1 bearspractically the same relation to the means for supplying steam to thecoil 14 of the still 2, and this may be equally true of all the stillswhich may be added, very little description of the connection to theother still orstills is necessary There is avalve gear 41-correspondingto the valve gear 31,, a pipe 40' leading steam from the valve gear 41to the coil 13, a pipe 42 leading the steam which is passed through thecoil 14 into the pipe 40 at a point a between the air bulb 43 and thevalve gear 41, and also a pipe 44 leading steam from the coil or coilswhich act on the vapor from the still 1, the pipe 44 as well as the pipe'42 joining the pipe 40 between the valve gear 41 and the airbulb 43.

in connection with each still {1,2, 3, l. have shown a stillhead orvapor chamber 51, 52, 53. .ltcterring to the stillhead or vapor chamber58, l have shown thereni a coil 54, though it is clearly within thescope of my invention to use one, two or more coils at the same ordifferent temperatures, or other type of heat transfer devices orreceiving steam, the mere multiplication of these units being an obviousexpedient in view of the present disclosure and easily arprovision ofcoils and controls for each stillhead. The coils are in the path oi? thevapors passing from the still and may be used either to raisetheir'temperature and complete the cracking, or tolower theirtemperature and condense the uncracked vapors, or there may be aplurality of coils of varying temperatures for both purposes. Anysuitable means may be used for condensing the product. As shown, a pipeleads from the dome or outlet of the still head at 580 to any suitablecondensing apparatus 70 p which may be identical for the differentstills. In connection with the condenser, or each condenser, i use apressure regulator 71 an important feature as this is distinctly asystem of cracking under pressure and de pendent for its useiuloperation on a comparatively high and, preferably regulated pressure inthe stills.

Each dome or stillhead contains an air bulb 59 connected to a U-shapedmercury tube 60 containing electric terminals connected to the motor 6iot'the valve gear 56 so that the-variation in temperature of the gas andvapors passing from the stillhead controls the operation of the motorand the temperature of the steam in thecoil. Each stillhead is providedwith a similar or equivalent apparatus with one or more coils which maybe separately or collectively controlled, and in the form of layoutshown, the steam from each of these coils is led into the steam supplyof the heating apparatus of the corresponding still, though thisarrangement nay be varied within the scope of the invention.

In operation the oil which is to be cracked is introduced into the stillat one end of the series, as to the still marked 1, preferably enteringat the bottom through the pipe 6 and comes first in contact with thebottom oi? the coil 13. ln the still 1, the oil how is upward in contactwith the coil 13 which is fed from the top and the oil overflows fromthe, top through the pipe 4 into the bottom of the still 2 coming incontact'there with the bottom portion of the coil 14. In this still, itlikewise passes upward being drawn oli. at the top through the pipe 5coming in contact with portions of the coil 14 atincreasing,temperatures as, it passes upward, the coil 14 being fed fromthe top as is the coil 13 in the still 1.v In the still 2, the oiloverflowing through pipe 5 passes into the bottom ofthe still 3 wherethe coil arrangement and path of the oil are similar to the samefeatures in the previous stills.

1n the still 3, the highly heated residue trom which all theconstituents available tor the manufacture of gasoline or the like,including and the lighter oils, have been evaporated after passingupward over the coil 15, ore-flows through the pipe 7 and passes intothe outlet or waste pipe 8. Each still 1, 2, 3 has a stillhead or vaporchamber at, 52, 53 wherein the vapors are controlled as to theirtemperature by temperature regulatinp units 54ishoWn in the form ofsteam coils and the temperature oi each coil in each stillhead, as wellas the temperature of each coil in each still, is regulated by aseparate thermostatic element though where less flexible adjustment isrequired, as when the desired temperatures oi the different heating"elements have a constant relation, the thermostatic control may bedifferently arranged and the different elements grouped so as to reducethe number of thermostats. This apparatus is adapted to treat theheavier oils by subjecting them successively to predeterminedtemperatures, preferably heating the oil in one still to a certain temperature at which certain constituents are evaporated or cracked orboth, controlling the ten'iperature of the vapors that come oil fromthis still as indicated, heating to complete cracking if necessary, orcooling to separate the vapors of the uncraclred oils, then passing theoil to another still, heating it to different, usually a highertemperature, subjecting the vapors from that still to the temperature ortemperatures best suited to producing the highest percentage of olatileliquid or liquid resembling gasoline and passing the residue to anotherstill. where it is heated to a still higher tempera ture for furthercracking. The vapors from each still are, in the apparatus shown,separately controlled as to their temperature for the purpose alreadyrecited so that as the oil passes from still to still, more and more oithe craclrahle oils, or oils available for the production Of gasoline,are evaporaterand the vapors heated at the desired tempera tures.However, it is Within the broad scope o t my invention to pass all thevapors and gases to a single chamber or passageway.

In. the preferred. and most economical arrangement of the apparatus. thelower end of the coil in still 1 with which the oil comes first incontact contains steam or Water condensed from the steam which haspassed through the system, the temperature of the steam having beenreduced as it passes through the system, transferringits heat to the oilin the still. In this way all the heat or practically all of it, withthe exception of what radiates from the pines and from the outside ofthe tanks or stills, may be utilized, that is the steam from each of thecoils in the vapor chambers or stills having been turned into andmingled with the steam in the coils in the stills proper, is

utilized for heating the oil, the coil oi czu-h still in turn being runinto the next one. With the heating; e 1 zuitomatically controlled loreach coil or temperature ci'introlling unit in the entire system,practically no heat is yasted. Th steam or hot water, or both, passingfrom still 1 can evidently be utilized in various well-known ways forgeneral plant purposes, or reheated tor another series 01 stills.

l have thus described my invention. specifically and in detail in orderthat its nature and operation may be fully understood; however, thespecific terms herein are used descriptively rather than in theirlimiting" sense and the scope of the invention is defined in the claims:

1. In an apparatus for cracking oils, a plurality oat stills tor theoil, a heating unit submerged in the oil in each still. two sources offluid under diflierent thermal conditions, means for supplying tluidfrom each source to the heating); units thermostatirally cimtro led inus for each still operating independently of the other stills torregulatin the supply of fluid from each source, a vapor cl ainl or eachstill, :tluid operated means for heatin' the vapor in the chamber, meansfor suppl ing the fluid from the above-mentioned two sour and athermostat controiled by the temperature in the vapor chamber forcontrolling the supply of fluid from each said source and determiningthe 'l'luid flow to the heater.

2. In an apparatus for cracking oils, a plurality of stills for the oil,a heating unit submerged in the oil in each still, two sources oi fluidunder dilierent thermal conditions. means for supplying fluid from eachsource to the heatin units, and thermostati- 'all v controlled means forregulating the supply of fluid from eachv source to each heating unit,with means "For passingthe Fluid from the heating unit of one still tothe heating unit in the next still, the thermostatically controlledfluid supply to each still after the h t being mingled with that fromthe preceding; stu and the tl'icrmostat being;- so placed as to actedupon and .-ontrolled by the thermal condition of the combined supply or"fluid from all the various sources.

In an apparatus for cracking oils, a plurality of stills for the oil, aheatingunit sulnnergged in each still, two sources of fluid underdifferent thermal conditions, means for supplying fluid from each sourceto the heating units, and thermostatically controlled means forregulating the supply of fluid "from each source to each heating unit,with means for passing the fluid from the heating unit of one still tothe heating unit of the next still, the thermostatically controlledsupply to each still after the first being mingled with that from thepreceding still, and the thermostat being acted upon and controlled bythe thermal condition of the combined supply of fluid from all thevarious sources, the oil being passed through the S \'SiJOI3'1 fromstill to still in the opposite direction from the fluid flow.

4t. in an apparatus for cracking oils, a

plurality of stills for the oil, a heating unit submerged in each still,two sources of fluid under difllerent thermal conditions, means forsupplying fluid from each source to the heating units, andthermostatically cons still, the oil being passed through the sysitemfrom. still to still' in the opposite direction from the fluid flow.

In an apparatus for cracking oils, a

plurality ot stills for the oil, afluid heating unit in each still, twosources-of fluid fluid from the heating unit of one still to the heatingunit of the next still, the thermostatically controlled supply to eachstill after the first being mingled with that from c the precedingstill, and the thermostat being acted upon and controlled by the thermal condition of the combined supply of fluid from all the varioussources, and means for passing the oil through the system from still tostill in the opposite direction to the fluid. flow so that the lowtemperature oil entering the still comes in contact with the fluid aboutto leave the still and serves to finally reduce its temperature, and asthe oil advances from each still and from still to still, it is heatedto a higher and higher temperature coming in contact with heat ing unitsof correspondingly higher temperatures, vaporizing the more easily andthen the more diflicultly vaporized oils until all the materialavailable for the production of gasoline and the like is removed.

6. In an apparatus for cracking oils, a plurality of stills for the oil,a fluid heating unit in each still, two sources of fluid under theopposite direction from the fluid flow so that the low temperature oilentering the still comes in contact with the fluid about to leave thestill and serves to finally reduce its temperature, and as the oiladvances througl'i each still and from still to still, it is heated to ahigher and higher temperature vaporizing the more easily and then themore difl icultly vaporized oils until all the material available forthe production of gasoline andthe like is removed, and means fortreating the vapor from each still at controlled temperatures wherebythe largest percentage of product of nearly uniform volatility isobtained.

In an apparatus for cracking oils, a

plurality of stills for the oil, a fluid heating unit ineach still, twosources of fluid under (lifl erent thermal conditions, means forsupplying fluid irom each source to each of a plurality of heatingunits, thermostatically controlled means for regulating the supply otfluid from each source to each heating unit, with means for passing thefluid from the heating unit of one still to the heating unit of thenextstill, means for passing the oil through the system from still tostill in the opposite direction from the fluid flow so that the lowtemperature oil entering the still comes in contact with the steam abouttoleave the still and serves to finally reduce its temperature, and asthe oil advances from each still and from still to still, it is heatedto a higher and higher temperature vaporizing the more easily and thenthe more diflicultly vaporized oils until all the mateand the like isremoved, means for treating the vapor "from each still at controlledtemperatures whereby the largest percentage of product of nearly uniformvolatility is obtained, said means being in the form of fluidheatingunits with means for supplying fluid to the heating units from twosources under different thermal conditions and thermostaticallycontrolled means for regulating the flow from each source anddetermining the temperature at which the vapor is heated.

8. In an apparatus for cracking oils, a plurality of stills for the oil,a fluid heating unit in each still, two sources of fluid under differentthermal conditions, means for supplying fluid from each source to eachof a plurality of the heating units, thermostatically controlled meansfor regulating the supply of fluid from each source to each heatingunit, with means for passing the fluid from the heating unit of onestill to the heating unit ofthe next still, means for passing the oilthrough the system from still to still in the opposite direction to thefluid flow so that the low temperature oil enteringthe still comes incontact with the fluid about to leave the still and serves to finallyreduce its temperature, and as the oil advances from each still and fromstill to still, it is heated to a higher and higher temperaturevaporizing the more easily and then the more diliicultl vaporized oilsuntil all the material available tor the production of gasoline and thelilIB is ren'ioved, means for treating" the vapor troiu each still atcontrolled teiupei'atui. whereby the largest percentage of productofnearly uniform volatility is obtained, said means being in the term offluid heating; units with means for supplying: fluid to the heatingunits from two sources under ditlerent thermal conditions andthermostatically controlled means to r regulating the flow from. eachsource and lcteruliningthe temper: at which the vapor is heated, andwear for returning the fluid from each vapor heating unit to the systemwhereby it is utilized for furthei heating the oils.

9. In an apparatus for cracking oils, a plurality oi stills tor the oil,a fluid heating unit in each still, two sources oi fluid under differentthermal conditions, means for supplying fluid from each source to eachof a plurality of the heating units, thermostaticall controlled meansfor regulating the supply of fluid from each source to each heatingunit, with means for passing; the fluid from the heating unit of onestill to the heating unit of the next still, the tierniostaticallycontrolled supply to each still after the first being mingled with thattrom'the preceding still, and the thermostat being acted upon andcontrolled by the thermal condition of the combined supply o't' fluidfrom all the various sources, means for passing the oil through thesystem from still to still in the opposite direction from the fluid flowso that the low temperature oil entering the still comes in contact withthe fluid about to leave the still and serves to finally reduce itstemperature, and as the oil advances from each still and from still tostill, it is heated to a higher and higher temperature vaporizing; themore easily and then the more dilllcultly vaporized oils until all thematerial available tor the production of gasoline and the like isremoved, means for treating the vapor from each still at controlledtemperatures whereby the largestpercentage of product of nearly uniformvolatility is obtained, said means being in the form of fluid heatingunits with means for supplying fluid to the heating units from twosources under different thermal conditions, and thermostaticallycont-rolled means for regulating the flow from each source anddetermining the temperature at Which the vapor is heated.

Signed by me at Baltimore, lvlar land, this 23rd day of April, 1917.

lVlLLlAlil B. D. PENNIhLlAN. Ni tnesses ZELLA KUHN, Pon'rnn H. FLAUTT.

